Christmas. Justin was leaving the day after tomorrow, and Sean hadn’t checked whether Justin would mind him crashing here while he was away.
“Is it okay if I stay here while you’re in Scotland?”
“Of course.” Justin’s gaze was still on the screen. “You can spend as much time here as you need.”
Sean bit his lip, then admitted, “I’m probably going to be here the whole time actually—if that’s all right with you?”
“What?” Justin paused the film and turned, frowning. “Of course you can stay here, but I thought you had plans with your dad?”
Sean flushed. “Yeah. About that. I never got around to contacting him. He thinks I’m still abroad. I can’t face seeing him yet.”
Justin put his hand on Sean’s thigh and squeezed. Sean swallowed against the lump in his throat, grateful for Justin’s silent support. If anyone understood how difficult Sean found it to be around his father, it was Justin.
Sean’s father’s disapproval at his coming out had driven a wedge into their already fragile relationship. Sean almost wished he’d never told him, but he’d been tired of fielding questions about non-existent girlfriends, of pretending he was playing the field before he settled down. When Sean had told him the truth—that if he settled down with anyone, it was going to be another man—his dad’s initial reaction had been one of denial and disbelief, swiftly replaced by anger and unhappiness when he realised Sean wasn’t going to miraculously see the error of his ways. If he’d reached a place of acceptance, Sean hadn’t been there to see it. He’d hardly contacted his dad while he was away beyond the occasional quick email to let him know he was still alive, and his dad’s responses had been similarly brief.
“But you shouldn’t be on your own for Christmas,” Justin said. “Please come with me. My parents love you. They’ll be thrilled.”
Sean shook his head. “I can’t afford the flight.” Justin opened his mouth, but Sean cut in again. “And don’t even think about offering to pay it for me. Anyway, it’s probably too late to book now. You know what it’s like at this time of year.”
“But won’t you be bored here on your own?”
Sean shrugged. “You’ve got video games I haven’t played yet and there’s Netflix. I think I’ll cope. Plus I have plenty of job applications to keep me busy. I’ll be fine.”
“Okay,” Justin said unhappily. He patted Sean’s thigh. “If you’re sure.”
“I’m sure.”
Sean didn’t think he could handle spending Christmas with Justin and his parents anyway. It would only remind him of all the things he didn’t have.
The following day Justin got home late.
“Bloody hell, I’m knackered. Thank God I’m finally on holiday. But my flight’s tomorrow morning, and the last thing I feel like doing now is packing.” He collapsed beside Sean on the sofa.
“Have you seen the weather forecast?” Sean asked. “Apparently there’s snow coming our way, lots of it. It looks pretty bad.”
“Fuck, really?” Justin sat up and pulled his phone out. “No, I didn’t think to check. We hardly ever get snow before Christmas.”
“Yeah, I saw it on the news at lunchtime. They’re talking about flights being delayed—or even cancelled if the Met Office is right.”
Justin opened his emails and found a message from his mum. He scanned her message, frowning. “They’ve got snow forecast up there too. Mum reckons they might be cut off for a few days if it comes. She says to check with them before I get on the plane, because they might not be able to get out to meet me at the airport even if I can still fly up. Bollocks.”
“I’m sorry.” Sean knew Justin had been looking forward to seeing his parents. Used to visiting them more frequently, he must be missing the contact since they’d moved north. “So, I might be stuck with you for Christmas, then?” Sean teased, trying to cheer him up.
“Looks
“Is it okay if I stay here while you’re in Scotland?”
“Of course.” Justin’s gaze was still on the screen. “You can spend as much time here as you need.”
Sean bit his lip, then admitted, “I’m probably going to be here the whole time actually—if that’s all right with you?”
“What?” Justin paused the film and turned, frowning. “Of course you can stay here, but I thought you had plans with your dad?”
Sean flushed. “Yeah. About that. I never got around to contacting him. He thinks I’m still abroad. I can’t face seeing him yet.”
Justin put his hand on Sean’s thigh and squeezed. Sean swallowed against the lump in his throat, grateful for Justin’s silent support. If anyone understood how difficult Sean found it to be around his father, it was Justin.
Sean’s father’s disapproval at his coming out had driven a wedge into their already fragile relationship. Sean almost wished he’d never told him, but he’d been tired of fielding questions about non-existent girlfriends, of pretending he was playing the field before he settled down. When Sean had told him the truth—that if he settled down with anyone, it was going to be another man—his dad’s initial reaction had been one of denial and disbelief, swiftly replaced by anger and unhappiness when he realised Sean wasn’t going to miraculously see the error of his ways. If he’d reached a place of acceptance, Sean hadn’t been there to see it. He’d hardly contacted his dad while he was away beyond the occasional quick email to let him know he was still alive, and his dad’s responses had been similarly brief.
“But you shouldn’t be on your own for Christmas,” Justin said. “Please come with me. My parents love you. They’ll be thrilled.”
Sean shook his head. “I can’t afford the flight.” Justin opened his mouth, but Sean cut in again. “And don’t even think about offering to pay it for me. Anyway, it’s probably too late to book now. You know what it’s like at this time of year.”
“But won’t you be bored here on your own?”
Sean shrugged. “You’ve got video games I haven’t played yet and there’s Netflix. I think I’ll cope. Plus I have plenty of job applications to keep me busy. I’ll be fine.”
“Okay,” Justin said unhappily. He patted Sean’s thigh. “If you’re sure.”
“I’m sure.”
Sean didn’t think he could handle spending Christmas with Justin and his parents anyway. It would only remind him of all the things he didn’t have.
The following day Justin got home late.
“Bloody hell, I’m knackered. Thank God I’m finally on holiday. But my flight’s tomorrow morning, and the last thing I feel like doing now is packing.” He collapsed beside Sean on the sofa.
“Have you seen the weather forecast?” Sean asked. “Apparently there’s snow coming our way, lots of it. It looks pretty bad.”
“Fuck, really?” Justin sat up and pulled his phone out. “No, I didn’t think to check. We hardly ever get snow before Christmas.”
“Yeah, I saw it on the news at lunchtime. They’re talking about flights being delayed—or even cancelled if the Met Office is right.”
Justin opened his emails and found a message from his mum. He scanned her message, frowning. “They’ve got snow forecast up there too. Mum reckons they might be cut off for a few days if it comes. She says to check with them before I get on the plane, because they might not be able to get out to meet me at the airport even if I can still fly up. Bollocks.”
“I’m sorry.” Sean knew Justin had been looking forward to seeing his parents. Used to visiting them more frequently, he must be missing the contact since they’d moved north. “So, I might be stuck with you for Christmas, then?” Sean teased, trying to cheer him up.
“Looks
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